With 3:51 left in the first half of Saturday’s game against Texas A&M, ISU coach Bill Fennelly adamantly disagreed with a no-call on a turnover by Kelsey Bolte and was issued a technical foul by official Clarke Stevens.

As both teams headed to their benches for a media timeout, Fennelly continued to argue his point to Stevens before the ISU coaching staff guided Fennelly back to the ISU bench.

“I can’t comment on the officiating, and I apologize to the fans and especially to my wife. That’s the first technical foul I’ve had in a long time so that was not smart,” Fennelly said following the game.

Fennelly joked in the postgame press conference that he was suggesting places for Stevens to eat, but clearly he was not happy with the call.

“My Irish temper came out, and I wasn’t smart enough to control it, so I apologize for that,” Fennelly said.

Texas A&M guard Sydney Carter made both free throws coming from the technical foul call as the Aggies finished the first half on a 6-4 run to take a 29-26 lead into the break.

“It was a hard game to call,” said Texas A&M coach Gary Blair. “Both of us wanted to get every [call], we just can’t have it that way all the time.”

The technical foul was the first for Fennelly this season, but not his first in a game against the Aggies or with Stevens on the officiating crew.

Fennelly received a technical foul after arguing a no-call in the first half of the Cyclones’ 65-53 loss to the fourth-seeded Aggies in the 2008 Big 12 Tournament semifinal game. Stevens was one of three officials to call that game.